Tag Archives: information books

For far too many years, children’s literature has lacked any kind of breadth in the field of GLBTQ literature. Though the tide is turning, it can still be difficult to find good, appropriate GLBTQ literature for kids. These books generally come in two categories – books for children in gay families and books for children who are themselves gay or questioning. Both types allow children to be comfortable in who they are and who their families are and have their lives represented in the books that they read.

For my part, I have read some excellent books lately. Much of what I remember from my childhood is Daddy’s Roommate and Heather Has Two Mommies. While these are good, seminal works, the range has expanded to fantasy literature as well as many other genres of children’s literature. Here are some of the new(er) ones that I’m loving:

King & King and King & King & Family by Linda de Haan. Both of these express, through the folkloric tradition of kings and queens, how love can be found in different forms and families.

And Tango Makes Three by Peter Parnell. Based on a true story of two male penguins who adopt an abandoned egg and raise the baby, Tango, together. I love this story of alternative family structures, especially through the easy to understand form of animals.

Mommy, Mama, and Me by Lesléa Newman. Newman is probably best known for Heather Has Two Mommies. This is a fantastic board book about a lesbian couple raising their baby. It’s wonderful to have books for children so young where they can see their own family structure represented. Newman also has Daddy, Papa, and Me.

The field is expanding and different gender representations and family structures are being represented more and more. The books I listed above should be a part of any library and your children’s literature collection.

Sustainability is a buzz word these days, but the concepts are important, especially to children. After all, much of what people are trying to do with sustainable practices is make the world a better place (and still exist) for the children of today when they grow up and their children and so on.

While sustainability is big conceptually, if you break it down into categories, you’ll find that there is a lot of great literature out there for kids in areas like recycling, home gardening, and biking and easy sustainable practices. All of these books help children understand that they can be a part of the solution and sometimes, they can take charge too. Check it out!

Recycling

Bag in the Wind by Ted Kooser. This story follows a plastic bag and illustrates the ideas of reusing and recycling without being preachy.

Local Farms and Sustainable Foods by Julia Vogel. More than just growing your own food, kids can learn why it is important to buy the family’s food locally if they can.

Reducing Your Carbon Footprint at Home by Sarah B. David. While this information book does include facts about recycling, I included it in this category because of its general outlook on sustainable practices that kids can do at home.

Today is the sad anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire. On March 25, 1911, 146 garment workers were killed because they were locked in at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory during a fire due to labor practices at the time. Though this is a tragic event, it changed the face of labor relations and for children interested in history, particularly women’s history, this flash point event is important. I have already highlighted some parts of women’s history earlier this month, but felt that this particular event needed it’s own post. Here is some reading on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by Jessica Gunderson. A graphic novel version of an information book, this text is ideal for bringing in reluctant readers and teach them more about American history.

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire by Donna Getzinger. This information book is best suited for middle to upper grade readers who want to look at a historical, in-depth look of the event in context.

I just finished reading Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus and I loved it. It’s a story of a young Japanese boy who is shipwrecked with his friends and goes on a great adventure that finds him traveling the world on a whaling ship. Throughout the story the reader comes across whaling and sailor lingo and it really gives you the feeling of a life at sea. It got me thinking about other books about the ocean. As the weather starts to get warmer, a life at sea, or at least at the beach, starts to sound like great idea. Here are some good ones you should check out:

Turtle in Paradise by Jennifer L. Holm. This Newbery Honor book takes place in the Florida Keys and you really get the feel of Conch culture, which involves a lot of fishing and a lot of nicknames.

When talking about princesses and Cinderellas the other day, I failed to mention a new favorite in the Cinderella variations – The Salmon Princess, which is an Alaskan Cinderella story (you can tell because it’s about salmon fishing and the princess wears Xtratufs). This got me to thinking about Alaskan children’s literature. I am originally from Alaska. I was born and raised in Juneau, the capital city, and because of this I have a fondness for stories about Alaska. Plus, anything you can do to dispel myths that Alaska is constantly covered in snow, that there are 24 hours of sunlight or darkness in all parts of Alaska (it’s a big state!) and that everyone lives in igloos (this ignores so much of Alaskan Native cultures), the better. Alaska is the Last Frontier and there’s a lot of children’s literature about it, ranging from information books to folklore to historical and contemporary fiction.

(Sandy Beach from my last winter trip home, December 2009)

Alaska has a great history of storytelling because of the Native Alaskan traditions as well as the early Russian immigrants and the Filipino, Irish, and other immigrant groups of Alaska. I’m particularly fond of the Tlingit/Haida tales I heard growing up in Southeast Alaska, especially those about Raven. Raven is a trickster and is involved in a number of Tlingit creation stories, like how Raven stole the daylight (included in this volume of Native American creation myths). Check out stories like Totem Tale: A Tall Story from Alaska,The Wave of the Sea-Wolf, and The Frog Princess: A Tlingit Legend From Alaska (retold by my very favorite Eric Kimmel) for good examples of this Alaskan storytelling tradition.

Alaska is a vast wilderness and the people who grow up and live there have a unique view on life and many feel a special connection to nature. There are many subjects about Alaska that children would enjoy reading about, including:

the Iditarod Sled Dog Race

amazing animals like all types of bears (especially the fearsome Kodiak Grizzly), caribou and moose, salmon, puffins, and narwhals

Gold Rush. The stories from Skagway are especially interesting and this book is a good place to start. Another part of Alaskan storytelling comes from the Sourdoughs, the miners that came to find gold in Alaska. One of my favorites growing up, partially because of a particularly good reading by my 8th grade English teacher, was The Cremation of Sam McGee.

modern stories from Alaskan Native cultures. There is a tendency for many non-Native children (and adults) to view Native cultures as something that exists in the past when these cultures are still very much alive. Learn more about the tribes of the Aleutians, the tundra, the far North, Southeast, and all the varying regions of Alaska.

nature! From temperate rainforests (my hometown area) to the tallest mountain in North American (Denali) to the tundra, Alaska is filled with beautiful wilderness and exciting things for children to learn about

If subjects are too broad, a couple of great authors to start with are Cherie B. Stihler (she did a great adaptation of the Gingerbread Man called the Sourdough Man) and Susi Gregg Fowler. Both of these authors have a number of different types of books based in Alaska that will get you started on your journey into the Last Frontier.

Today is St. Patrick’s Day, which is an official feast day in Ireland, and is a celebration of Irish culture all over the world. Other than everything green, St. Patrick’s Day can be celebrated by learning a little more about what’s behind all those shamrocks and leprechauns.

Information books, also known as non-fiction, are an often underused category of children’s literature, which is unfortunate because there is a plethora of well written and engaging information books available to youth. One important reason to try to expand your knowledge of non-fiction is the appeal these books hold for boys. In 2005, Lee Galda, a professor of children’s literature at the University of Minnesota was quoted about the worth of nonfiction in the Washington Post (Strauss, p. A12):

A lot of teachers think of reading as reading stories. And in fact, a lot of boys, and not just boys, like nonfiction. But we keep concentrating on novels or short stories and sometimes don’t think of reading nonfiction as reading. But in fact it is, and it is extremely important.

This is not new information. In 1998, author and teacher Stephanie Harvey published Nonfiction Matters: Reading, Writing, and Research in Grades 3-8. This text is designed for teachers to integrate more nonfiction into their classrooms and to pay attention to the power of nonfiction, which “demands that learners select a real topic that interests them” (Harvey, 1998, p. 4). It also demands that there are good topics of interest available that are well written and researched.

So, back to St. Patrick’s Day and Ireland. One of the premiere nonfiction authors for is Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This award winning nonfiction author penned Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1850, an amazing information book that is ideal for middle grade readers and us is about the potato famine that, among other things, caused a wave of Irish immigration to the United States. Other great information books about St. Patrick’s Day and Irish culture include:

Ireland (A to Z) by Justine Fontes introduces younger readers to everything Ireland and includes an index of Gaelic words to help children really understand Irish language and culture.

Of course nonfiction isn’t the only way to educate children about Ireland and St. Patrick’s day. There a number of great folktales from Ireland as well as great early readers, picture books, and fiction stories, but today I thought nonfiction deserved some focus.